For Luke Evans, his sci-fi monster movie “Worldbreaker” is, let’s say, a break from his leading man-worthy heroic warriors.
With a limp and bushy beard, it’s a character performance intentionally chosen out of personal beliefs.
“The breakers are creatures that have lived under the Earth’s crust for a very long time,” Evans, 46, began in a Zoom interview. “As the Arctic Circle melted, cracks appeared and they escaped.
“Maybe this earth was their home before it was ours. They’re very, very angry humongous creatures. I’d say, 15 to 20 foot high. They’re sort of a hybrid between a spider crab and human, with terrifying faces. They are very, very angry, and they want their world back.
“They don’t speak our language and are incredibly dangerous. In this war they are probably on the winning streak.”
As for why this was a must, “The concept. I love that it didn’t take the formulaic track of a post-apocalyptic monster film. It’s set up brilliantly at the beginning where you understand that women’s genetic makeup means that if they’re bitten or scratched by these breakers they don’t ‘turn’ the way men do. Men become what we call a hybrid, this terrifying human-looking creature who is terrifying and dangerous. The breaker creatures can hear and the hybrids can see.”
Against the constant shadow of war, “You have the story of this father and his daughter Willa (Billie Boullet) who have escaped to an island. It becomes a character-driven story between two humans, a father and daughter isolated for years on this island. Across the water is the mainland where friends, family, my wife (Milla Jovovich) — my daughter’s mother — are possibly being killed, never to be seen by them again.
“Yet it’s a story about finding hope where there is fear. In a world where fear is the only thing that exists. I liked the message of that.”
Evans began as a teenage singer before he acted. In March he makes his Broadway debut as that “transvestite from Transylvania,” Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a revival of “The Rocky Horror Show.”
Why a revival when it seems people tend to wallow in nostalgia and revere the original, “It’s good, but he’s not Tim Curry”?
“I think the challenge is to find something new, something unique. I mean, there will never be another Tim Curry — and there never should be. He originated this role and, iconically, has become remembered for half a century.
“It’s a wonderful thing to be able to step into those high heels! But I am different, I sound different. I have a chance to do something different. And of course, with Tim always in my head.”
“Worldbreaker” is in theaters Friday
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